Oakland @ Houston props

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Zack Gelof in the 91st percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability. Zack Gelof has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.1-mph to 92.3-mph in the past week's worth of games. Zack Gelof's launch angle recently (20.8° over the past two weeks) is significantly higher than his 14.6° seasonal angle. Despite posting a .279 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Zack Gelof has had bad variance on his side given the .027 gap between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .306.

The 2nd-shallowest LF fences among all stadiums are found in Minute Maid Park.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jacob Wilson in the 94th percentile when it comes to his batting average skill. Jacob Wilson has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this year (100% of the time), but he is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup. The 2nd-shallowest LF fences among all stadiums are found in Minute Maid Park.

J.J. Bleday is projected to hit 3rd in the lineup today. Hitting from the opposite that Spencer Arrighetti throws from, J.J. Bleday will have the upper hand in today's game. J.J. Bleday has made significant gains with his Barrel% lately, improving his 8.8% seasonal rate to 14.3% over the last two weeks. J.J. Bleday's launch angle this season (18.9°) is considerably higher than his 15.4° mark last year. J.J. Bleday's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved of late, rising from 19.3% on the season to 28.6% in the past two weeks' worth of games.

Shea Langeliers is projected to bat 4th in the batting order today. Shea Langeliers pulls a lot of his flyballs (36.7% — 94th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting them towards the league's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's matchup. Shea Langeliers has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.1-mph to 93.7-mph over the last 14 days. Compared to his seasonal angle of 16.4°, Shea Langeliers has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (10°) in the last 14 days. Shea Langeliers's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has increased from last year to this one, rising from 13.4% to 18.2%.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Seth Brown ranks in the 79th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Seth Brown is projected to hit 5th on the lineup card in this matchup. Batting from the opposite that Spencer Arrighetti throws from, Seth Brown will have an edge in today's game. Seth Brown has made sizeable improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 10.2% seasonal rate to 19.4% in the past 14 days. Seth Brown has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 89.8-mph to 94.2-mph over the past 14 days.

When it comes to his overall offensive skill, Lawrence Butler ranks in the 84th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Lawrence Butler is projected to bat 1st in the batting order in this game. Hitting from the opposite that Spencer Arrighetti throws from, Lawrence Butler will have an advantage in today's game. Lawrence Butler has made significant strides with his Barrel% recently, improving his 12.9% seasonal rate to 26.1% in the past two weeks' worth of games. In the past two weeks' worth of games, Lawrence Butler's exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 95.3-mph over the course of the season to 101-mph lately.

The #8 stadium in the majors for suppressing BABIP to lefties, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Minute Maid Park. Minute Maid Park's altitude is near sea-level, one of the lowest in the majors, which generally leads to lower offensive output. Yordan Alvarez will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Osvaldo Bido in today's matchup. Yordan Alvarez hits a lot of his flyballs to center field (38.8% — 90th percentile) and will be challenged by the game's 8th-deepest CF fences in today's matchup. Out of all the teams in action today, the 2nd-best infield defense is that of the Oakland Athletics.

Brent Rooker projects as the 19th-best hitter in the majors, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Brent Rooker is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. Brent Rooker has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity recently; just compare his 95.7-mph average in the past week to his seasonal 92.3-mph figure. This season, Brent Rooker has experienced a significant improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs, now sitting at an average of 97.4 mph compared to last year's 94.9 mph mark. Over the last 14 days, Brent Rooker has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls: 23.6° compared to his seasonal mark of 18.3°.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Kyle Tucker ranks as the 11th-best hitter in the league. Kyle Tucker is projected to hit 3rd in the batting order in this matchup. Kyle Tucker will benefit from the home field advantage today, which ought to boost all of his stats. Compared to last season, Kyle Tucker has improved his ability to hit the ball at a launch angle ideal for home runs, increasing his percentage of balls hit between 23° and 34° from 19.5% to 25.1% this season. Kyle Tucker has recorded a .411 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) this year, ranking in the 98th percentile for offensive skills according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Chas McCormick's BABIP skill is projected in the 81st percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). Osvaldo Bido will hold the platoon advantage over Chas McCormick in today's game. Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics in all categories, and Chas McCormick will hold that advantage today. Over the last 14 days, Chas McCormick's 25% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 19.5%. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Chas McCormick's true offensive talent to be a .309, implying that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .052 gap between that mark and his actual .257 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 79th percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability. The 2nd-shallowest LF fences among all stadiums are found in Minute Maid Park. Osvaldo Bido will have the handedness advantage against Jake Meyers in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Jake Meyers will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Jake Meyers's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has gotten better from last year to this one, going from 40% to 46.7%.

Minute Maid Park has the 2nd-shallowest fences in Major League Baseball — generally good for HRs. Batting from the opposite that Spencer Arrighetti throws from, Tristan Gray will have the upper hand today.

Home field advantage generally boosts batter stats across the board, and Victor Caratini will hold that advantage today. Victor Caratini has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.8-mph to 95.8-mph over the last 7 days. Sporting a .273 Expected Batting Average (an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year , Victor Caratini has performed in the 86th percentile. By putting up a .329 wOBA (a leading indicator of offensive ability) this year, Victor Caratini finds himself in the 78th percentile. Victor Caratini has posted a .275 batting average this year, ranking in the 88th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Yainer Diaz as the 17th-best hitter in baseball as it relates to his batting average talent. Yainer Diaz is penciled in 5th in the batting order today. Osvaldo Bido will have the handedness advantage against Yainer Diaz in today's game. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter metrics across the board, and Yainer Diaz will hold that advantage in today's game. Sporting a .339 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Yainer Diaz grades out in the 79th percentile for offensive skills.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 94th percentile as it relates to his batting average talent. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this game. Osvaldo Bido will have the handedness advantage over Jose Altuve today. Jose Altuve pulls many of his flyballs (42.1% — 99th percentile) and has the good fortune of hitting them towards baseball's 2nd-shallowest LF fences in today's game. Jose Altuve will benefit from the home field advantage in today's game, which figures to boost all of his stats.

Batting from the opposite that Spencer Arrighetti throws from, Ryan Noda will have the upper hand today.

When assessing his overall offensive talent, Alex Bregman ranks in the 95th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Alex Bregman is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup. Osvaldo Bido will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Alex Bregman in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter stats in all categories, and Alex Bregman will hold that advantage in today's game. With a 2.05 K/BB rate this year, Alex Bregman has displayed strong plate discipline, placing in the 76th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 94th percentile when assessing his batting average ability. The 2nd-shallowest LF fences among all stadiums are found in Minute Maid Park. Batting from the same side that Osvaldo Bido throws from, Jeremy Pena will not have the upper hand in today's matchup. Home field advantage generally boosts batter metrics across the board, and Jeremy Pena will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Jeremy Pena has seen a big gain in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 91.9-mph average in the last week's worth of games to his seasonal 88.1-mph mark.

Ben Gamel will have the handedness advantage against Osvaldo Bido today. Out of all the teams on the slate today, the 3rd-weakest outfield defense is that of the Oakland Athletics. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Ben Gamel will hold that advantage today. Ben Gamel has made big improvements with his Barrel% lately, improving his 12.2% seasonal rate to 20% in the last week's worth of games. Ben Gamel has seen a substantial improvement in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 98.9-mph average over the last week to his seasonal mark of 92.2-mph.